The Castle climbing centre in North London currently supply three members of the GB youth climbing team, and one recent graduate is now on the senior bouldering squad. BMC Regional Academy Coach Ben Levey reveals how he combines sports science with a humane approach to get the best out of his young athletes.
Does the way you coach today have any relation to your own climbing upbringing?
I certainly had a very different sort of climbing education. A guy called Dave Douglas [who now runs Awesome Walls] and his mates were the local activists in the North York Moors where I grew up, and a few young people including myself got involved with that movement. They’d be out new routing and we’d be seconding, trying out the routes. I think if kids were put on those climbs today it might raise a few eyebrows! I mean, we were falling off a lot.
And what about indoor work?
The type of wall I grew up on was an old converted lift shaft with brick inserts, chipped bricks – very different from today’s gyms. It was very traditional and nothing ever changed but it did suggest the value of repeating exercises over and over, of drilling movement. I think what’s missing in a lot of climbing today is drilling movement. Nowadays it’s all about the ‘new set’. Climbers never think about the fact a gymnast wouldn’t do a gym routine without learning how to tumble correctly, or that a martial artist practises the same kick over and over again.
And you used to be a university lecturer. How has this influenced the way you work at The Castle?
I suppose my academic background has had a big influence, because I’ve been able to process the sports science and bring it to bear on the way we coach here. After hearing [ex-Team GB head coach] Dave Binney present his work at a BMC Coaching Symposium at Plas y Brenin I dug out as much of his work as I could. What I discovered has massively influenced The Castle's programme.
Why do you consider Binney’s work so important?
Dave is one of few figures who’s actively done hard and fast scientific research on the physical aspects of training for climbing as a unique sport, rather than bringing in research from other sports and disciplines. For me, his experimental results and academic papers are key.
What about Neil Gresham's influence?
Whereas a lot of the delivery of the training - the actual coaching - has come from Neil Gresham and his masterclass approach. This means everything from technique coaching right through to the way we interact with parents and other interested parties. I got some really golden tips from Neil. While Binney takes care of physical stuff there’s really no substitute for actually having done that hard training and knowing what it feels like.
How much do you think the young climbers here understand about their training regimes and structures?
Not an awful lot. Some of the kids here are very young and brand new to the sport and the key thing for them is to learn to lead. They don’t have personalised training plans, whereas the rest of the competition squad clearly do. I don’t give them too much biological detail, I don’t sit them down and say, “This exercise will increase the size and density of the mitochondria and slow-twitch muscle fibres”. But I do explain in loose terms why we’re doing it, why it’s important, and of course I’ll answer any questions they might have. On the other hand some of our older squad members are doing A level biology so I can sit down with them and talk about mitochondria if they’re interested.
Do you get a sense of the part climbing plays in your competition squad’s lives?
For most of the older A group it’s much more than a hobby. I mean, they’re coming in 4-5 times a week.
And do you feel they’re achieving balance in the rest of their lives?
The best thing we’ve done in the last two years is put together a parents’ committee and parent representatives, whom we meet with once a quarter. This not only keeps us on our toes but it’s also a forum for parents to raise issues, as well as being a forum for them to educate themselves. We also run parent courses on dynamic belaying, for example, because the parents are belaying the kids who are climbing hard and falling off regularly. Parents also sit in on some of the sessions. The parents’ involvement is invaluable in us getting the full picture. Often as a coach you only see one side to the kids and the parents can fill you in on exam stress and so on. Basically parent input has to be there.
What do you think makes a good young climber?
They need to be hooked on the sport - simply being obsessed by something is normally enough for any teenager. But there are other qualities you can pick out. If we take our team captain Jim Pope as an example, he’s very good at adopting an objective viewpoint. He doesn’t let his ego get in the way and failure doesn’t overwhelm him.
He knows that performance is about repeating an action over and over again and about having a sense of perspective. He sees good climbers here on a down period and climbing 6 or 7 grades below their maximum and six months later they’re back climbing at a world class level. He has that view of what training can do and this allows him to relax.
His decision making is good and physical skills are incredible. But perhaps what’s really required is an even personality - to be able to disassociate yourself from your performance. I really don’t think it would matter if Jim was climbing F6b and long as that was his limit. Jim just loves climbing at his limit. You sometimes see him with the other kids and his enthusiasm is infectious. If he see’s that you’re really struggling he’s satisfied, and that’s a pretty good approach to have.
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